For
350 members of Turf Producers International (TPI), a visit to the
LESCO Service Center® in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was an eye-opening experience – and
not because it was an early morning event with lots of coffee and
doughnuts.
Although
sod growers have long relied on LESCO for sod-quality seed and a variety
of other products, many were unaware of the scope of the service
center operation. Learning of the existence of more than 270 such
facilities throughout the U.S. was welcome news indeed.
As Michelle
Williams, who directs turfgrass sod sales for LESCO,
pointed out, “LESCO stocks sod-quality seed in certain locations
either because there are a lot of farms in the area or by special
request.
But LESCO represents
sod-quality seed and so much more. I wanted to give them a taste
of what LESCO really is by introducing them to the service center
concept
and
letting them see how much we have to offer. They were all very impressed.”
Thanks to
the cooperation of Assistant Service Center Manager Neil Brenneman,
the popular TPI mascot known as “Mr. Turf” was on hand to greet
the four busloads of U.S. and international turf producers as they arrived.
Other LESCO representatives participating in the event included Service
Center Manager Mark Eichner, Sales Manager Jeff Carl and Matt Fellows,
who operates the Store-on-Wheels® in the area.
The tour took place as part of the annual TPI Summer Convention
and Field Days during the last week of July. Headquarters for the
event, which attracted
a record number of attendees, was Sporting Valley Turf Farms in
Manheim, Pennsylvania.
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